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High Altitude Bumblebee

She was on the summit of a mountain that is 10400 ft high. I saw bumblebees all along the hike on the way up to the top. The top was quite windy and probably less than 50 degrees F. I was surprised to see a bumblebee up there, but then I read that they have been observed at higher than 18000 feet. This type of bumblebee is different than any I see in town. These look a but fuzzy. They are truly a marvelous creation.

Re: High Altitude Bumblebee

Re: High Altitude Bumblebee

Here's another bumble collecting nectar at 12,012 feet on the crest of Monarch Pass summit on July 12th. I live at 4840 feet and discovered I've got them down here too. I spent 30 minutes looking for a honey to no avail. DSC01971.jpg

Re: High Altitude Bumblebee

"New queens drink lots of nectar to build up their fat body and fill their honey stomach. This will enable them to survive the winter hibernation, then they find a suitable place to hibernate. In the UK this is often under a tree root or at the base of a wall, but it is never in a place that could be warmed up early in the year by the sun. This is to prevent premature emergence. So in the UK the hibernation site and nest site are usually located in very different situations. As with many other animals that hibernate, it appears that bumblebees must reach a certain weight in order to survive the winter. For the largest bumblebee in the UK, Bombus terrestris, the queens must weigh at least 0.6 g to successfully hibernate and emerge next spring. It is during hibernation that queens can become parasitized by the nematode Sphaerularia bombi.

During hibernation if the temperature falls below a certain point glycerol is automatically produced in the queen's body. This is a form of anti-freeze and prevents ice crystals forming which would cause the fluids inside her cells to expand and her body to burst."